The present invention is directed to an indicator mount. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a support assembly for a precision gauge including a base for mounting a finger gauge that includes its own support surface and provides linear vertical adjustment.
The present invention is related to the invention described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,946 issued Dec. 7, 1999 entitled Height Gauge Support Stand. As described therein, tool and machine shops, use precision gauges to verify that a machined article has been manufactured within the desired tolerances. A height gauge is used to verify that the vertical dimension is what it ought to be. A precision gauge is mounted on a support stand and positioned upon a granite surface plate that has been polished to have a surface flatness within millionths of an inch. Gauge blocks which have been ground and lapped to a particular dimension are used to calibrate the height gauge and the measurement transferred to the machined article to verify that it is within tolerance.
Not every machine shop can afford the expense of a precisely ground support plate or table. In addition, many of the existing support stands tilt the gauge as a means to effect fine adjustment. While this tilting affords adequate adjustment, it is far from optimum since it changes the angularity with which the gauge engages the surface it is to measure.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art. The adjustable indicator mount of the present invention provides an assembly including a base which supports the article to be measured. The support assembly includes a base that is machined to within 0.0001 inch smoothness. This obviates the need for an expensive granite table. The support assembly further includes a platform which may be coarse adjusted vertically along a post. The platform is provided with an opening that receives one end of the support arm and a screw moves it vertically along a pair of dowel pins to permit fine adjustment in the form of pure translational movement.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after a reading of the following specification.